Faced with the total picture of downtown Minneapolis development in one place, people looking through the 2013 Building Community exhibition Thursday found themselves somewhere between dreams and reality.

University of Minnesota officials say it’s not clear when actual dirt will be moved for the ambitious athletic facilities improvements on the school’s Minneapolis campus, but local contractors say they will be ready to mobilize when that time comes.

Six weeks after ceremonial groundbreaking shovels came out for an expansion of the University of Minnesota’s Amundson Hall, the university took another step toward actual construction of the $27.6 million project.